Clemson signs eight of the state's top 20 football prospects

Palmetto Domination

Palmetto Domination

To see Clemson and Carolina's overall recruiting grade, enlarge this graphic.

To see a breakdown by position of the Clemson and Carolina recruiting classes, enlarge this graphic.

Recruiting Report Card

A year ago, South Carolina delivered what many believed was a knockout punch to Clemson with the best recruiting class in the school's history.

Using the brand name of Steve Spurrier, South Carolina landed a consensus top 10 recruiting class, giving most Gamecocks fans visions of an SEC title in the near future.

But like any good boxer, Clemson countered South Carolina this year, landing a devastating body blow and clobbering the Gamecocks in the state of South Carolina on its way to one of the best recruiting classes in school history.

Depending on what recruiting service one looks at, the Tigers landed the No. 12-ranked class nationally according to Rivals.com and the 11th-ranked class according to Scout.com. ESPN.com had the Tigers at No. 2.

But one thing that isn't in dispute was the Tigers' complete domination of the Gamecocks, which had the No. 23 (Rivals) and No. 34 (Scout) classes.

So, how did the Tigers coaching staff do it?

That's easy, said Rivals national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell, with just good old-fashioned hard work.

"Clemson got off to quicker start," Farrell said. "South Carolina had a great class last year, and I think Clemson used that as motivation. Clemson got out there in May during the evaluation period and got a lot of offers on the table. I think Clemson just outworked South Carolina during that evaluation period.

"I don't know what was going on with South Carolina. During the spring and the summer when you start to really build a class they were not involved with as many elite kids as they were last year. It seemed like there was a letdown for South Carolina and they were never able to catch up. In the end, I think Clemson just outworked South Carolina."

Miller Safrit, the Southeast recruiting editor for Scout, said players were attracted to Clemson's budding, young talented lineup.

"I think a lot of the kids saw the young talent that Clemson has and they wanted to be a part of that," Safrit said. "When a guy like James Davis comes back for his senior season after declaring for the NFL draft, it shows you what kind of talent Clemson has and their prospects for next season. They were an Aaron Kelly catch away from beating Boston College and playing in the ACC Championship game last season. Kids want to be a part of that."

The key for the Tigers this signing period was their ability to close certain prospects. Undecided players like running back Jamie Harper, offensive lineman Antoine McClain and tight end Dwayne Allen all signed with the Tigers on Wednesday.

"Traditionally Clemson has not been a great closer," Safrit said. "The opposite was true this year. I think they got seven of the eight guys they wanted the last couple of weeks and if you're getting half those guys you're doing pretty well. To get seven out of eight is huge in recruiting. That took this from a very good class in the ACC to a great class nationally."

Clemson dominated in the state of South Carolina, which pushed this class onto the national stage. The Tigers landed eight of the state's top 20 players.

"Tommy Bowden has been in the state a lot longer than Steve Spurrier," Farrell said. "South Carolina hasn't been able to build as many in roads locally as they would have liked with some of the high school coaches. Lou Holtz really ruined a lot of those relationships, so Spurrier has been trying to overcome that for three years.

The Tigers class is led by Bamberg-Ehrhardt defensive end DaQuan Bowers, the No. 2 rated player nationally by both Rivals and Scout.

"He's a freak of nature," Farrell said. "He can play anywhere he wants. He's a Reggie White type of defensive end. A guy who carries 280 or 290 pounds and gets off the ball faster than everyone else. He's got great closing speed. He's everything that you look for in a defensive end and he's ready to go right away. You're not going to get a talent like DaQuan Bowers and not get him on the field."

Safrit said South Carolina fans shouldn't feel too bad because there's still plenty of talent in this class.

"This is a good class, not a great class. Guys like Kenny Miles and T.J. Johnson are going to be a good players, maybe even special players. Jarriel King could be an impact player. Getting those three guys from Fork Union is going to help them. All is not lost for South Carolina. This is a solid class."

"South Carolina did a great job early on. They got a bunch of commitments early that came from very talented guys. They just couldn't finish it off. When their season went down hill, it really hurt them out there recruiting."

Farrell said the Gamecocks actually fared OK against most SEC schools. A year ago, there were seven teams from the SEC that had top 10 recruiting classes. This year there were only three SEC teams — Alabama, Georgia and Florida — that were among Rivals top-10 classes.

"South Carolina fans can't help themselves, they are going to compare this class to Clemson's class," Farrell said. "Auburn fans are ready to jump off a bridge because of the class that Alabama put together and Auburn had a top 20 class. In some rivalries, that's just the way it is. This is a good class for South Carolina. It's a drop from last year, but the SEC wasn't as strong as they were a year ago on a national level."

Safrit thinks changes in recruiting tactics might be coming at South Carolina.

"I think any good coach revaluates his recruiting process after every season no matter how good or bad it goes," Safrit said. "South Carolina is certainly are going to have to change what they've been doing because they were beaten so badly head-to-head on so many players. Steve Spurrier is still Steve Spurrier and that's going to help, especially in a state like Florida.

"I don't know if they're going to have change around some of their assistants or how they recruit or where they recruit, but they're going to have to do something before next season."

Commitment for 2009

Running back Roderick McDowell (5-10, 175) of Sumter has become Clemson's third commitment for the 2009 football recruiting class. The speedster committed to the Tigers on Sunday after making an unofficial visit to Clemson on Saturday.

McDowell rushed for 1,389 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. He accounted for 1,500 total yards and 28 touchdowns.

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com.